Musings and Mutterings

Nanotech ink turns paper into batteries - News - Windows for Devices

Researchers at Stanford University have created a battery by baking paper onto which has been applied an ink containing a mixture of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires. The battery can be crumpled or even soaked in acidic or basic solutions without performance degradation, and can be charged and discharged an order of magnitude more often than lithium batteries. The battery also discharges quickly so the technology could also be used to make cheap supercapacitors.

Major breakthrough in lithium battery technology reported

Canadian researchers have demonstrated the first robust lithium-sulphur battery, as well as a new approach to creating composite materials. Lithium-sulphur batteries have been long been sought because they have potential for high energy densities and sulphur is cheaper to obtain than materials currently used in lithium-based batteries. The team developed a nano-casting technique consisting of a structure of nanoscale carbon rods seperated by empty channels. The rods kept the channels open until molten sulphur was added. Capillary forces drew the sulphur into the channels where it solidified into sulpher nanofibers. The resulting battery demonstrated 3 times the storage capacity of lithium-ion batteries. The researchers are currently ironing out the details with an eye to commercialization.

New memory material may hold data for one billion years

The Doomsday Book survived more than 900 years but today's digital memory devices have lifespans of only a few decades. Researchers, though, have developed a new type of memory system that is expected to have a lifespan of almost 1 billion years with a theoretical maximum recording density of 1 terabyte per square inch. Each bit in the system consists of an iron nanoparticle, trapped in a carbon nanotube, that can be moved from one end of the tube to the other using electricity. A one or zero is read by determining in which end of the tube the iron nanoparticle resides.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Arts & Culture | Caravaggio was early 'photographer'

An italian researcher suggests that the 16th century artist Caravaggio may have used light-sensitive materials to detect light reflect from a hole in his ceiling, onto the subject, and then onto the canvas. The afterimage would have lasted for 30 minutes, during which time he could paint the image over the projection. The researcher noted that most of his early subjects were left-handed, an anomaly that could be explained if the painter were working with a mirror image. The researcher stressed that this does not detract from the artist's ability; rather it adds to his ability to master a technique far ahead of his time.

Neutron tracks revive hopes for cold fusion - physics-math - 23 March 2009 - New Scientist

Just when thought it was safe to go back to the lab... cold fusion is back again. A researcher at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command believes that the have found evidence of nuclear fusion in a palladium salt solution. The researchers discovered a small number of "triple tracks" in a plastic material used as a detector when a charge was applied to a solution of palladium chloride, lithium chloride, and deuterium oxide. Triple tracks typically indicate the presence of high-energy neutrons, such as would be produced by nuclear fusion.

Robots could flex muscles that are stronger than steel - tech - 19 March 2009 - New Scientist

Scientists have developed a material made of ribbons of nanotubes that expand up to 220% when a voltage is applied, then return to normal when the voltage is removed, all within a few milliseconds. The material is apparently stronger than steel and stiffer than diamond, and operates over a range of temperatures extending from liquid nitrogen to above the melting point of iron. The downfall is that the material, made from an aerogel, is 1000 times less dense than human muscle. As a result, large volumes of the material are needed o achieve a strength approaching that of the human arm.

Self-Healing Car Coating Repairs Scratches : Discovery News

University of Mississippi researchers have developed a polyurethane coating that is able to repairs scratches if left in the sun for a few hours. The key is a minuscule amount of chitosan, related to chitin which is found in lobster and crab shells. When the material is scratched, the chitosan reforms its bonds, pulling the polyurethane along. Within an hour the scratch is gone. They are now planning to conduct long-term testing so they can determine if it is commercially viable.

A fabric with green sheen: Fast-growing bamboo offers more eco-friendly cloth

I had no idea that you could make cloth from bamboo.